Above:
Nicko by Shax Carter
-See More Below-
~Check out today's BIRTHDAYS HERE:~
Saturday, November 4, 2023
Halloween: Aftermath:
Leaving the motel, the morning after the Halloween bash.
Every year, when I first post after the holiday, I feature an All Hallow's Eve aftermath. It usually consists of an image depicting a moment post holiday party or the morning after. Check out some of my previous aftermath posts HERE:A Looker in Lavender
I don't remember much about the early eighties, but I do have vivid memories of the latter part of the decade. Most of my memories stem from music and color. Shades of purple seemed to be everywhere. Almost every girl I went to school with had various pieces of clothing in various shades of purple. Teachers wore light purple, and I often arriving home to find my mother in the living room doing yoga in a pair of purple yoga pants.
Recently I saw some of these shots of supermodel Marcus Schenkenberg Roller skating shirtless in a hot pair of purple shorts. I'd seen similar images before, but I never really knew the story behind them. It didn't surprise me to learn that the shots were taken in 1989, while Schenkenberg was Roller skating in Venice Beach.
What I didn't know however, is that these shots, or so the story goes, were the first images that helped launch the then 21 year old, into the world of modeling. The Swedish born Schenkenberg was a struggling actor in Los Angeles at the time, when spotted roller skating by photographer Barry King.
I'm a big fan of King's work, especially the many male celebrities he shot early in their careers. If not for King we wouldn't have those early shirtless shots of; Milo Ventimiglia, Johnathon Schaech, Craig Sheffer, Jensen Ackles, shirtless in a cowboy hat, and so many other great shots of some of Hollywood's hottest up and coming actors.
Not sure if the stories completely true, but I don't think anyone could ignore the looker in lavender skating along the boardwalk that day. If King just happened to be there when Schenkenberg breezed by it was a fortunate coincidence for both them, and all of us.
Marcus Schenkenberg on Instagram
As The Tree, So The Fruit
'Make a tree good, and then its fruit will be good.'
Matthew 12:33
When I was putting together my King Kong themed posts, I had a long list of possible topics to cover. One of pieces I didn't have room for, featured the American cover and cover model from from issue16 of King Kong magazine. I decided to hold this piece, (and another you can see on PAGE 2 HERE:) until now. The others were focused on the big gorilla, this one was on another breed of sexy beast.
Although he is wearing fur, Deacon Phillippe certainly isn't terrifying anyone, if anything, most of us would gladly enjoy enjoy having his hands wrap around us. It's hard to believe the sone of Reese Witherspoon And Ryan Phillippe is now 20 years old. It doesn't seem that long ago I was lusting after daddy Phillippe in his many hot performances in the 90's.
Deacon wasn't born when we were all lusting after Phillippe's posterior in 54 and Cruel Intentions. Deacon was born in 2003, and for some odd reason, it feels less strange, and I feel a little less old, that he was around while I was lusting after his dad's derriere in Damages and Catch Hell.
Although he's followed his parents footsteps into the business, acting is Deacon's primary passion is music. In addition to having released several singles, he released his first full album, A New Year, earlier this year. Although I know nothing of their private relationship, from their public posts on social media, father and son appear to have a close relationship.
Phillippe by Alex La Cruz for King Kong Magazine:
'There’s a hint of danger in our shoot of actor, singer, songwriter Deacon Phillippe. And that’s the way it should be in the year he turns 20. A new decade deserves a reboot. Ditch the teenage angst, and repurpose that energy with a knowing sensuality.'
Deacon's fur shots, couldn't help but remind me a bit of the images, and scene of the photoshoot for Ryan's character in 54.
Raw Materials: Nicko by Shax Carter
'I have always found Nicko to be curious, as well as pretty daring and ambitious, and he was always up for a challenge.'
Almost everything we create starts with just the right raw materials. The 'raw' refers to something that's either unprocessed or in a minimally processed state. Whenever I feature an artist's work, I try to find the quality that initially stood out and drew me to their work. In the case of Shax Carter, it was how natural and raw his images looked and felt.
I felt it the first time I saw Shax's work with Jason, and in each of the shoots that I've featured on FH. (HERE:) It's not that Shax doesn't edit touch up and edit his images, it's more that his process never hides or alters the innate qualities and raw sensuality of the men in front of his lens.
Many photographers edit the shit out of their images, making the model in front of their lens, almost unrecognizable. It's almost as if they want to downplay the carnality, presenting hot naked men as if their puppies and kittens, and not a man, or a visual to be sexually desired. Shax doesn't hide his models, or his artistic objective. Shax wants you to desire the men he shoots, without any obstructions hiding their naturally raw materials.
When first seeing Shax's work with Nicko, it was obvious the young model was comfortable in front of the camera. He exudes a natural sexual energy in almost every shot. This energy is present even when Nicko is clothed, it comes as much from pose, and Nicko's facial expressions. Although Shax certainly captured plenty of nudes, some of the most sensual shots of Nicko are those portrait shots, with his eyes, his lips and facial structure in focus.
'I first connected with Nicko through another model who knew him. At the time there was a group of models that all knew each other, and were friends. They often passed each other's names around and had occasionally worked along-side one another.'
'Nicko was a professional model at the time of our first meeting. He had a great spirit, and was always a pleasure to work with. Nicko was 22 when we began our two year working relationship. He consistently brought a lot of energy to each of our shoots, and wholly enjoyed the photographic process.'
Although he didn't initially intend to turn his work with the 22 year old Nicko into a book, after seeing the results of their creative collaboration, turned their multiple shoots in a 370 page print collection. In addition to images of Nicko, other models join Nicko in some erotically raw and explicit, boundary pushing shots.
The book, Nicko, then..., is available in a hardcover edition, and an instant downloadable PDF version. You can check out, and preview more on Blurb HERE:
You can also see more images of Nicko, including some couple shots, as well as Shax's thoughts on his work with Nicko, on the NEXT PAGE HERE:
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